Disclaimer: Bah, don't own Naruto.
A/N: Upon request, I have added Anko into the mix. Enjoy the next chapter. R&R
Bolts from the Blue
Dreams and Snakes
Two Days Later
He runs and runs, but he can't seem to shake the mob behind him. He trips, and they're upon him. Kunais stab his legs, frying pans and blunt objects beating him into submission. Next thing he knows, he is tied up, bleeding like a stuck pig. A pain in his lower abdomen causes him to black out, the pain ebbing away and he is sure he is going to die.
He opens his eyes, the pain in his body gone. Looking at his body, he looks at his body and it is all bandaged.
A voice rings out behind him, "Ah, you're awake."
He turns his neck, trying to work out the kinks, "Who are you?"
The man chuckles a bit and steps out of the shadow, revealing a man with an orange mask with one eyehole.
"All you need to know is my name is Tobi. Pain, step out for a minute."
Another man steps out, a man with piercings all over his face. He has orange hair and wears the same cloak as the other man.
"Hello Naruto," he says, voice emotionless.
He just stares back at the two men, "Are you going to hurt me?"
"Oh no Naruto-kun. We're going to train you."
His eyes shine, "Really?"
"Yeah, really," Tobi smiles behind his mask.
"Rest Naruto, we will be back tomorrow."
The two disappear, leaving him alone to sleep and wait for the day he shows Konoha what he has become.
He wakes up in a cold sweat, memories of the day making him shiver. The sleeping form next to him lays undeterred, lightly snoring. He shakes his head, trying to clear his mind of the memories. He sits up, hands on his head wiping off the sweat. He looks over at the clock, 6:00 AM. He usually woke at around 7:30, but he knows he can't go back to sleep. Swinging his legs over the bed, he stands up and makes sure he doesn't wake the sleeping beauty next to him. Walking out the door, he closes it with a soft click and heads into the shower.
The water pours over him, cleansing him of the sweat produced by the dreams. They wash the grime of yesterday off. The day before was mostly dedicated to training, Konan watching and supervising. They sat and talked about the exams, going over their plans for the future. They ended the day the same as yesterday, watching the sunset from the top of the Hokage Monument.
Finally clean, he steps out of the shower, towel wrapping around his torso, and walks into the bedroom to find Konan still asleep. Her small snores are cute in Naruto's opinion. He quickly dresses, pulling on his normal ensemble of black clothing. He walks out of the kitchen and decides to start on breakfast, grabbing some eggs and sausage he bought the day before.
Konan awakes to the smell of food wafting into her bedroom, the smells instantly awakening her. Scurrying around, she quickly puts on her underwear and walks out to find Naruto whistling, all the while cooking. He turns around and finds her in her skivvies, a perfect view. The light behind her projects the image of a blue haired angel and he smiles at her beauty.
"Good morning Konan-chan," he smiles, setting down the plate of eggs.
"Good morning to you too," she returns the smile, all the while scarfing down the eggs.
"Is somebody hungry?" he smirks, memories of the night before flooding back.
She looks at him in a deadpan expression and continues to eat, much to the amusement of Naruto. Looking at the clock, he notices it is about time for the Jounin meeting with the Hokage of Konoha.
"Konon-chan, it's about time for the meeting. Get going, I'll see you at the exam."
Looking at the clock, she notices the time and stands up, "Okay, I'm going to take a quick shower. I'll see you then."
As she turns to leave, he grabs her wrist stopping her abruptly. Tugging at her wrists, he spins her around and plants a hot, passionate kiss on her lips. His tongue licks at her mouth and she gladly opens up for him. His tongue probes her mouth for a good minute before they break apart, both panting from the lack of oxygen.
"What brought that on?" she says, still panting and becoming wet just from the kiss.
"Just showing how much I love you," he says voice soft.
"I love you too. Now skedaddle, you have an exam to take and a demon container to capture," she says with a smile on her face.
He smiles, letting go of her hand and watches her walk into the bathroom. Walking into the bedroom, he rummages inside the drawers and pulls out a few articles of clothing. Within the ensemble, a black turtle neck adorns his torso, black ANBU style pants accompanied by plain back shinguards. A black trench coat covers his back, while he straps a sword over the cloak. He pulls on a pair of fingerless black gloves with black metal plates on the back of the fingers. Looking in the mirror, he approves his look and ties his long blond hair in a waterfall.
Walking out, he leaves a note on the counter and makes his way towards the academy where the first part of the exam is to be taken.
***
Ascending the flight of stairs, he walks out onto the second floor to find a genin trying to get through a door guarded by two Chunin. Looking up at the sign, he notices the shitty genjutsu and continues to walk up the stairs when he hears a shout behind him.
"I suggest you drop the genjustsu," said a boy with black hair.
Looking at the speaker, he smirks. It is Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's little brother. The boy wears a black jacket with the collars popped, a fan symbolizing the Uchiha clan in his back. He wears white pants with tape wrapping around his right knee, closing off the leg hole. Tape is wrapped around his left forearm, his hands stuffed in his pocket in a nonchalance pose. Looking at him, Naruto scoffs.
'So this is who wants to kill Itachi? Good luck.'
As they continue to argue, the argument bubbles down to a stand still, the Chunin just about ready to wipe the floor with the little prick of a Uchiha. As their legs begin to move, a green blur can be seen stopping both their feet. Naruto watches in amusement at the speed that is never seen in the repertoire of a genin.
Analyzing him, he chokes at what the guy wears. The boy is wearing a green spandex suit with the leg holes ending in an orange wrapping. His face is disturbing with big round black eyes and thick eyebrows to boot. His hands and forearm sport some tape that wrap around them. His hair comes down in a bowlcut, giving him an air of… something. Naruto just couldn't put it into words, his head still visibly shaken at the boy's ugly clothing.
Turning around again, he ascends the stairs and passes the rogue looks pointing at him. A rumble comes from below him, making him look at the ground. Everybody does as well and what shocks them most is the volume of the voices.
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
Suppressing a shudder, he walks into the real room 301 and sits in a seat at the back. Scanning the room, he notices the Kusa-nin looking at him, as well as the silver haired boy in the purple. Then, a sudden smell hits his nostrils: snakes. Trailing the smell back to its source, it lands on the Kusanin and the boy in the purple. His mind goes into overdrive, trying to figure out the reason why Orochimaru and his spy would be at the Chunin exams.
'I'll be keeping an eye on you Orochimaru.'
Orochimaru on the other hand, notices Naruto and his eyes go wide, but he is not seen.
'Damn brat, ruined my plans in Akatsuki. Going to ruin my plans here as well.'
Sitting back down under the guise of the Kusanin, Orochimaru looks for his prey, the last Uchiha in Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke.
Watching the Kusanin closely, he watches as Orochimaru stares intently at the door. His eyes shift a moment later and then he follows his gaze. The Uchiha.
'Hm, so that's who you're after. I'll see you in the forest you snake.'
A commotion begins by the door, two women fighting over… something.
"Hey kiddies, it's better if you shut up and sit down before you're DQ'ed," a genin in purple says.
The Uchiha slits his eyes while Naruto watches lazily.
"Who are you?" Sasuke questions.
"I'm Kabuto and this here is my nin deck. Has information on many shinobi in here. Would you like to know about any of them?"
"Sabaku no Gaara, Rock Lee… and that kid over there," he says, while pointing at Naruto.
"That's no fun, you gave me names. Well at least I have to find the other guy. Here we are, Sabaku no Gaara. Hm, interesting. He's from the hidden village of Sand. Woah, completed 10 B-rank missions and damn, 5 A-rank missions. He also supposedly comes back with no scratches. He's definitely Chunin material."
It sends shivers down the genin's spines and then Kabuto continues, "Let's see, Rock Lee. Ah yes, here we are. Rock Lee is suppose to be a Taijutsu pro among the genin. Apparently can't use chakra. Completed 40 D-rank missions, 15 C-rank, and 7 B-rank. Not bad for a genin."
They look over at Lee, most of them analyzing him. He will definitely be a hard competitor.
"Now for the last guy. Hm, found him. His name's Touketsu. Apparently from Ame if his forehead protector goes. Anything else? Nope sorry guys, no more information on him. Apparently he likes to keep himself a secret. Is there anybody else?" he says, expecting more names.
"Yeah, us."
The three oto nin suddenly charge at the genin with the glasses, one of their fists connecting with his stomach doubling him over. The oto nin is about to throw another punch when a five poofs of smoke appear in the front of the class with a loud pop. Naruto watches on with a look of boredom, occasionally yawning to show how boring this is.
Looking around, he spots the proctor, a man with many scars on his face. He wears formal Jounin vest and sandals. His face scans the room, releasing a little killer intent when he spots the fighting.
"YOU BRATS BETTER SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. YOU GOT TIL THE COUNT OF 3 TO SIT DOWN OR YOU FAIL."
The genins eyes go wide and begin to scramble.
"1."
There are still people running for seats, all of them fighting for one or another.
"2."
Most manage to get a seat, but a couple unlucky few don't.
"3. You three, you fail. Leave or face my wrath," he says, releasing more killer intent, making all of the genins, save a few, want to piss their pants. He inwardly laughs at the face of all the genin, all their faces in shock and fear. Naruto just sits calmly, the killing intent far too little to scare him any.
Looking back at the Kusanin, or Orochimaru, he notices the snake's eyes still on the Uchiha. He rolls his eyes, remembering the time he tried to take Itachi's body. The proctor clears his throat, indicating the beginning of the exam.
"Alright, this is the first portion of the Chunin exam. This is the written part, 10 questions, the tenth question will be revealed in 45 minutes. There will be no cheating, and every time you get caught, you will lose 2 points. Once you get caught 5 times, you and your team will fail. Any questions?"
Screeches and yells of protest fall to deaf ears, serving to make the scarred man angry, "Shut up brats. You became adults when you became a genin. Shut up and suck it up."
The four chunin begin passing out the exam, handing each student a paper and a pencil.
The scarred man clears his throat again.
"You have 45 minutes until the tenth question. Begin, no cheating."
Pencils begin to click against wood, the graphite rubbing against the pieces of paper. If anybody is to listen it, it would sound like hundreds of rain drops hitting the floor. Naruto looks around lazily and looks down at his test. He smirks as he knows most of the answers to each question. Finishing under a minute later, he leans back, eyeing Orochimaru. It seems like he finishes as well, the pencil dropping to the wood of the desk.
A long and laborious amount of time later that is spent on observing people using pitiful ways to cheat, most of them failing and getting the boot. A voice breaks through his little world, shattering it to a million little pieces.
"It's been 45 minutes and the tenth question. There is a condition though. You must choose to take it or leave it. If you choose to take it and you fail, you will be a genin forever. If you leave now, you will be able to take the test next year. Now, if anybody would like to leave, raise your hands and walk through that door. Oh there is another thing," he says, making the genin go wide eyed.
"If you choose to leave, you take the rest of your team with you," this immediately draws the fear from their eyes, their faces distorting in fear and confusion.
Hands immediately shoot up and out scurry 10 or so genin, followed by another 5. Looking around the room, he sees the pensive expressions on all their faces and he sighs at their naivety. He see through the mind games, already knowing what the Jounin wants. He watches as a pink haired girl shakily begins to raise her hand, only for another person to slap it back down on the table with force. A loud slap echoes through the room, the girls hand smacking against the desk.
The Uchiha shoots a glare at her, forcing her to put her hand back down.
A few minutes later and departure of 3 more genin, the scarred man speaks up, "Here's the tenth question."
Everybody tenses, ears open trying to catch the question, "You…"
All the genin lean forward, making Naruto smirk.
His face goes downright scary, "All…"
"Say it already," the Uchiha shouts.
The man shoots a glare at the Uchiha before continuing, "Pass!"
Eyes go wide, mouths go open, a chuckling is heard from the back of the room. Every turns their head towards the source of the sound who is still chuckling softly, his eyes closed. Everybody narrows their eyes at him, all of them wanting to know what's funny.
"What's so funny gaki?" Ibiki shoots, trying to intimidate the boy with killing intent.
Naruto suddenly stops chuckling, letting out his own killing intent, making some of the genins actually piss their pants. Even the ones who can withstand Ibiki's killing intent grow scared, unable to move out of fear. Ibiki even has a hard time controlling himself.
"The funny thing is… are all these people aren't fit to be genin if they can't even take a risk. I looked at all their eyes, fear showing. It was hilarious," he says, nonchalantly and returns to his stoic self.
Ibiki narrows his eyes at the boy before turning back to the class, "The tenth question is to test if you can take risk. As a Chunin, you will be put in life and death situations where a risk can be rewarding or devastating. Depending on how you play it, you may be able to make it out the other side. You have to go in confident and convinced, or you won't be getting out."
The glass shatters, two kunais with a banner pierced onto the blade. The banners unrolls to reveal a banner labeled, "The Sexy and Single, Mitarashi Anko." Soon after, the woman presuming to be Mitarashi Anko jumps through in a front flip, landing on her feet, arms flourishing.
"Always one for flash entrances Anko," he says, quirking an eyebrow at the banner.
"Yup, that's how I like 'em," she says, voice with a happy tone in it.
He chuckles a little bit at her entrance, making her shoot him a glare. She recognizes him from the restaurant and blushes, the blush not going unnoticed by Ibiki and Naruto. He gives her a small smile, making her heart flutter at his beautiful smile.
Clearing his throat, Ibiki watches as Anko puts on her metaphorical mask again, "Alright gakis, get to training ground 44 in 30 minutes. Be there or you fail."
The genin begin to file out of the room, some of them running and screaming, "Where is training ground 44?"
Naruto, the only one left in the classroom, laughs at the little outburst, making Ibiki and Anko look at him.
"What are you still doing here?"
His eyes turn cold for a second, quickly losing the luster earlier, "The snake slithers in the leaves. You know what I mean Mitarashi-san."
He disappears in a swirl of ice, leaving the two Jounin to stare at the spot he just sat at. Her mind begins to dissect his words and then it hits her.
Quickly, she begins to wrist a hasty note and hands it to Ibiki, "Get that to the Hokage. Orochimaru is here. This stays between you, me, and the Hokage until he says otherwise. If you spill, I will castrate you. Got it?"
He sweatdrops, fully knowing she will fulfill her punishment if he lets slip, "Alright, I'll get this to the Hokage. Be careful Anko."
"When am I not Ibiki?" she says, giving him a cheeky grin.
He sighs and disappears in a poof of smoke, while Anko disappears in a swirl of leaves, leaving the room empty… or so they thought.
A blond haired man steps out of the walls and speaks into the empty room, "Well, good luck Orochimaru."
Not only is he now going to be hunted by Konoha ANBU, he will be greeted by an old friend by the name of Uzumaki Naruto, under the name, Touketsu. Disappearing in a swirl of ice, he appears in front of the gates of training ground 44, AKA the Forest of Death. He sits back against a tree, his eyes closing and waiting for the rest of the genin to come and continue the test. Not long after, Anko appears in a swirl of leaves on a tree branch. Her eyes latch onto the motionless body sitting against the tree trunk and decides to play a little prank on him.
Throwing a kunai with deadly precision, it nicks his left cheek, drawing blood from the cut. Quickly shunshining next to him, she licks up the blood, savoring his taste in her mouth. She closes her eyes, her tongue swirling around in her mouth, trying to taste anymore of his delicious tasting blood.
When she opens her eyes again, he's gone and then she feels a kunai pricking her right cheek, drawing blood. She then feels a warm sensation on her cheek, and then the feelings of a wet tongue sliding across the cut, licking and lapping up the blood protruding from the cut.
Quickly turning around, she tries to elbow him only to hit air. She turns around and finds him sitting in his original position, eyes closed. She stares and cocks her head to the left, surprise written all over her face at how fast he is. She looks at his cheek, already noticing the disappearance of the small cut.
"You know, that little trick doesn't work on me."
She cocks her eyebrow, wondering what he means by his word, "What trick? You mean the kunai?"
"I can see right through you," his voice emotionless, an underlying tone she can't identify.
"What do you mean by that?"
"You hide behind a mask of insanity, but underneath you're a scared woman. You portray yourself as an insane person to push people away from you. You're scared that if you open your heart again, they will just rip it out and throw it to the ground."
She grows angry, and picks him up by the collar and slams him against the tree, "I am not afraid. I am Mitarashi Anko."
His eyes are still closed and he speaks softly, "You know I'm right. You're in denial that somebody has seen under your mask. I'm like you, living a lonely life. Until somebody found me and trained me, I lived alone. Now though, I have somebody I care for and I push myself to the limit to protect them. Despite obstacles in the way, you have to overcome them. Your mask is one of those obstacles, not allowing you to reach your full potential. Now let me go, or you will be charged for attacking a foreign nin."
She slowly lets go of his collar, her eyes still focusing on his closed ones. Her mind goes into overdrive, analyzing and dissecting his words. She realizes that they are all true, every single word he said.
He opens his eyes, unleashing bright cerulean blue eyes that seem limitless. They shine like the ocean, the sun reflecting off his pupils giving them a sparkle. She takes a step back, trying to adjust to seeing his beautiful blue eyes. He gives her a small smile, seeming to make a 360 in his attitude.
"Thank you for letting go. I'll see you around, Mitarashi-san."
"It's Anko."
"Anko-san it is. Now I do believe you have a test to run?" he gives her another small smile before leaning against the tree, closing his eyes again.
She stares at him for a second, trying to adjust to her new image of him. At the restaurant, loving and caring for the ones he loves, vicious and ferocious when provoked or angered. She takes another step backwards and turns her body around to walk towards the middle of the clearing. She can't help but give one more look back and sees him with his eyes open, mouth turned upward in a soft, gentle smile. She returns the gesture with her own, relieved to have someone who actually understands her.
A couple minutes later in a lapsing silence, the other genin begin to appear, their eyes going wide at the sight of the massive forest. Anko relishes in the sight of their faces, going wide in fear of the gigantic forest. Seeing them all there, she clears her throat and begins to talk.
"Alright, as you know, I am Mitarashi Anko and I am the second exam proctor. This here is the Forest of death," she says, smirking at all the fear in the genin's face.
"This is a 5 day survival fest where we unleash you into the forest. Your objective is to get one of each scroll, heaven and hell."
She holds up two scrolls, each having a single kanji for either Heaven or Earth.
"5 days, what about food?" a bigger genin says who is munching on chips.
"As I said, it's survival of the fittest. You can eat some of the plants, most are edible. You can always hunt. Now, continuing with the rules. Anything goes, be it killing, raping, anything."
Eyes go wide, mouths gape open, and a boy chuckles, sending shivers down the spines of the genin. They all turn around to find the blond boy laughing again, his chuckles turning into hysterical laughter. The Uchiha's eye twitches, aggravated at the boy who apparently thinks he's better than him.
"Hey dobe, what do you think you're doing?" Sasuke yells at the boy with blond hair.
"Hm, what am I laughing at? Oh yeah, you."
His insides begin to burn with anger, his emotions clouding his judgments. He clenches his fist, fingernails digging into his skin and drawing blood.
"You're weak. I'm a Uchiha, don't think you can take me."
He scoffs and laughs again, Anko watching with interest, "There's only one strong Uchiha. And he's not you."
His anger overloads, his backhand reaching for a kunai and tossing it at the sitting figure. Without opening his eyes, he simply darts his head into the path of the kunai, making Anko scream out, "Touketsu-kun, watch out!"
Her hand pops over her mouth as if trying to push the words back into her mouth. Everybody hears her, but is watching the boy and his reaction. With his head still in the way of the kunai, he opens his mouth, baring long and sharp canines. As the kunai approaches his mouth, he backs up his face a few inches and catches the kunai in his teeth.
"Now, now, the test hasn't even started and we're thinking about killing. Oh, I'll enjoy beating the shit out of you once we get in there. Watch your back Sasuke-chan," he smirks, eyes still closed.
Anko watches as the Uchiha boy stalks away mumbling, "Lucky dobe. We'll see who's stronger. I'm a Uchiha, nobody is stronger than me."
Returning her attention to the blond, she watches as a pink haired girl steps up, "Hey you, don't insult Sasuke-kun like that!"
He smiles, eyes opening to reveal cold blue eyes, far from the cheery ones Anko remembers, "Oh, who can this be? A pink haired girl who has no idea of being a kunoichi? Or are you a stinking fangirls? Wait, I think it's both."
The girl begins to turn red, a vein popping out of her head, "Shut up, you're a nobody. Sasuke-kun is from the Uchiha, the best clan in Konoha."
He laughs, and laughs, voice hollow sending shiver down the spines of the genin, "Best clan my ass. There's only him and another, so don't go sprouting bullshit about the best clan. If they were the best clan, the whole family would be living, not cold and buried in the ground. Now go take your ass somewhere and find your gay lover. I bet he's kissing some kid from Iwa right now under a tree."
"Sasuke-kun is not gay!" she squeals, trying to defend her crush's orientation.
"If he's not gay, then why is he not giving you a second look?"
No answers comes, her mouth floundering to make an answer, "Now get out of my sight and shut up. You're nothing, you're just a stuck up little girl who has a ridiculous crush on a stuck up little brat who only cares about killing his brother. You're a disgrace to all the kunoichi out there. You're weak and you will stay that way. Get out of my sight."
His words strike a cord in her heat, tears finding their ways to her eyes. Quickly turning around, she follows her crush, hoping he will let her cry on his shoulder.
The same boy in green steps up, his eyes narrowing as he stares at the boy, "That went too far. You have no right to talk to her like that."
"Hey, what I'm saying is true. She's just too stupid to see it. Apparently you are too. Now, isn't there suppose to be a second part to this exam?" he says, waving off the protest of the green boy.
He walks off, ignoring the boy in the green spandex. His anger flares and he charges, only to have his target disappear. He looks around and feels the cold, unforgiving steel of a kunai at his neck.
Cold words fall on his ears, "Now, now, let's not go off and pull a Uchiha now ne? I can tell you're a lot better than that Uchiha. Don't sink to his level. Now I suggest you get back to your team before I regret my decision."
Naruto lets go, the boy standing still as Naruto walks off towards his gate. The genin stand around in awe at the boy who just shook three people with words alone.
Almost everyone has the same line of thinking, 'Shit, I don't want to meet him in the forest.'
For a select few, they look forward to it.
'Mother wants his blood.'
'Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?'
'Dobe, I'll take you out.'
Anko watches the boy leave, her mind in awe at how well developed his mind is to analyze the situation and say words to provoke feelings from another. Anko knows how emotions can get you killed in a fight and she watches in amazement at how he can push people's buttons so easily. Snapping out of it, she sees all the genin gone and pulls a lever, opening all the gates. All the genin fly through the forest, all of them vying for the same goal. Well, almost all of them, save a select few. (I'll let you guess who. =] )
***
Forcing chakra into his feet, he jumps from tree to tree, trying to find Orochimaru in the thicket. He continues to make his way towards the tower when he notices three chakra signatures to the west. Changing course, he lands in a tree behind them, observing the three genin sitting in a circle around a creek. His sensitive ears pick up their conversation, the word Heaven intriguing him as he has the Earth scroll.
Quickly deriving a plan, he performs a seal less Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, creating four clones and sending them off in different directions. The four clones set themselves to watch from different angles, waiting for their creator to give the signal. A flash of light is seen from the ground, and the four clones rush at the three, their screams jarring the three by the river. They quickly sit up, setting up defensive positions as the clones come in. The clones are quickly defeated as they had set instructions to let their guards down when the real Naruto grabs the scroll.
After sending the four off, he quickly hops to the ground and waits for all of them to get into position.
With a quick handsign, he mutters, Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu (Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique), his body sinking into the ground. Making another clone, he henges it into a mirror, the light reflecting off the mirror to send the signals to the clones for their attack, allowing him to move without them noticing. Feeling around for chakra signatures, he finds himself under the three and his body appears in the middle. Quickly opening each bag silently, he finds his prize and uses the same jutsu to disappear as his clones are defeated.
With the defeat of the four clones, they stay on guard for another few minutes, waiting for anymore attacks from the same person. Another few minutes pass and they believe the threat is over. They turn to sit down, but a shocking scene sees them. All of their supplies are ransacked, their scroll gone as well.
The tallest one curses into the forest, "Damn, whoever did this is going to pay."
"Calm down Dosu, we're still probably one of the stronger teams out here. We'll just take another teams."
This apparently calms him down and then they pack up all that is left and set off into the forest in search of another team to take from.
Meanwhile, Naruto is chuckling to himself at how bad all of these genin are, "Damn those kids su-," he is cut off as a scream goes through the forest.
Shifting his course again, he changes it towards the scream, fully knowing Orochimaru is on the hunt. The scene in front of him is a destroyed battlefield, the Uchiha's neck being bitten by the snake sannin. The pink haired girl is no where to be seen, and he see's Anko lying by a tree, her chest rising and falling quickly.
Flaring his chakra, he gives his position away and descends to the forest floor, alerting Orochimaru of his presence. Orochimaru spots him quickly, withdrawing his head and dropping the Uchiha boy.
He smirks at the boy, "Well, it looks like you're too late to save the boy Naruto-kun."
His voice is cold and full of malice, "Who says I was here for the boy?"
His eyes go wide, implications of what he is going to do rise in his mind, 'Well, if you're not here for him, who are you here for?"
A single word escapes his lips, yet it carries so much, "You."
The boy blurs out of vision, appearing behind the snake sannin who dodges the kick out of instinct. Throwing a leg sweep, he watches as the snake sannin jumps, only for Naruto to thrust his fist into Orochimaru's nose, sending him a good 20 feet away. Blurring out of vision again, he appears behind the flying body of Orochimaru, giving him a side kick in the spine, sending him into another tree.
The tree collapses at the force and the snake sannin falls, coughing up blood as internal injuries begin to irritate him. With the dust still flying around in the air, he quickly makes a Tsuchi Bunshin and disappears into the forest away from Naruto. He leaves his clone as a distraction, giving him time to get out of there without further sustaining any damage.
Sitting on a branch, he looks into the smoke, trying to see through the thick gloom. He watches as Orochimaru slowly makes it to his feet sluggishly, holding his arm and limping forward.
Anko wakes up to find Touketsu on a tree branch opposite her, a cloud of dust to her left. Looking into the cloud, she sees Orochimaru staggering to his feet, his arm badly damaged as he tries to stem the bleeding. Looking at Touketsu, she watches his eyes follow the movements of the man. All of a sudden, he disappears behind Orochimaru and slices a kunai across his throat, only for it to turn into mud. She watches at how fast he moves, seemingly transporting from one spot to another.
Naruto steps back from the mud clone, letting the mud fall onto the ground and stare at it in disgust. Looking up, he notices that Anko is up and staring at him and he sighs. Quickly walking over to her, he kneels down, helping her into a sitting position.
"I'm guessing you saw the tail end of the fight?" he sighs, knowing that she did.
She nods her head, disbelief at a mere genin can move at that speed, "Yeah, I did. How? How did you do that to Orochimaru? You're just a mere genin."
He gives her a small smile, "Never underestimate your opponents Anko. I'm not who I appear to be, but I won't be revealing my identity any time soon. Come on, let's go, we need to get you some medical attention. Leave these three here, I don't really care since this is survival of the fittest."
Picking her up bridal style, despite the protest of Anko, he shoots off into the forest, getting to the tower in less than 15 minutes. Setting her down on her back, he begins to mold chakra into his hands. His hands glow green and begin to scour over her body, the warmth of his hands loosening her tense body. Once he finishes, he sits her up, handing her a soldier pill.
His eyes grow cold for a second, "Anko, you shouldn't have gone after a sannin. He could have easily killed you if I didn't show up."
His voice is cold and she shrinks, but her voice is still strong, "I couldn't just have let him slip through my hands like that. I need my revenge."
He shakes his head in disappointment at her retort, "Revenge? Revenge is such a terrible excuse. Sure, he may have hurt you in the past, but you push on and get away from the past. One day, maybe you'll be able to kill him, but with the way you're going about it, you're not going to any time in the future."
Her eyes narrow at his scolding, her voice angry, "What do you know? What do you know about me? Huh? Tell me. TELL ME!"
Her screams fall on deaf ears, his voice emotionless, "I know a lot about you. I know you have the curse seal. I know you were an orphan before Orochimaru took you in. I know how he betrayed you. I know. Trust me, I do and I feel your pain. But if revenge is all you want, you're not going to get it."
Her eyes grow wide, her posture still not wavering at his words, "You have to understand. As humans, revenge is a pitiful idea. Revenge is just an idealistic idea that makes you pin the blame on someone else. What you're doing is the same thing as what the Uchiha boy is doing. He seeks power to destroy his brother, not caring about the effects on the people around him."
She nods in understanding, allowing him to continue, "Anko, what do you think the death of you would do to your friends? Tell me."
She clings for an answer, the only thing she says is, "I don't have any friends."
He laughs, making her glare at him, "I'm sorry, I'm just laughing because you think you have no friends. I've seen you around Kurenai. I know you have friends. Think about what your death would do to them. Think on that and when you know the answer, meet me at this address."
Slipping her a note, he stands up and leaves her outside the tower. He disappears inside, leaving Anko to stew in her own juices. She looks down at his note and slips it into her pocket and stands up, disappearing in a swirl of leaves towards the top of the tower.
***
Time Skip (End of Survival Testing)
A knock sounds on his door, interrupting his sleep. Quickly sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes he opens the door to find Konan waiting for him. He smiles and wraps his arms around her waist and at the same time she puts her arms around his neck. Leaning down for a kiss, he puts his lips on hers, their lips moving in a synchronized fashion. A tongue laps at her bottom lip, demanding entrance into her mouth.
She happily obliges, and his tongue slips in to wrestle with hers, his tongue skimming the roof of her mouth. His tongue lazily drags his way around, his tongue massage her mouth which makes her pull away. People walking by try to suppress the nosebleed as they watch the two share a passionate kiss.
Stepping back, she gives him a smile, "It's good to see you Naru-kun. I heard about the Orochimaru incident. Was it you who made them flee?"
"I was bashing him around for a bit, but he created a mud clone and fled like the little pussy he is," he says, sighing about how he let Orochimaru escape.
"Come on tiger, don't be so glum. You get to beat up on some genin now!" she says, trying to raise his spirit.
He smiles at her attempts to cheer him up, and it works, "Oh alright, sounds fun. Let's go."
They walk out, chatting about the events that have happened since they haven't seen each other in the last few days. They walk into an arena with a balcony off to the side, stairs against the wall leading up. The Kage box lies opposite the entrance, and at the end is a stone statue. Konan ascends the stairs while Naruto walks into the middle of the stadium.
Ten minutes later, all contestants are on the floor and the Hokage sits up, pipe in his mouth.
"Congratulations to all those who have passed the second stage of the Chunin exams. Due to the number of contestants still in the exam, we will hold preliminaries until 8 contestants are left. These matches will be fought between individual shinobi. Once a contestant can't continue, the match will be stopped. Understood?"
"Hai."
A man coughs behind them, making them all turn around.
"I am Hayate Gekko. I will be the proctor for the preliminary rounds. Now, if you may direct your eyes towards the screen."
The screen begins to blink, names and pictures scrolling by. It begins to slow down and eventually comes to a stop. The two names…
Touketsu vs. Uchiha Sasuke
A/N: Oh boy.